Thomson

It’s a heck of a way to run a pre-election campaign. On the eve of an expected election, politicians usually spend their time playing up good news, downplaying the bad, shaking hands and kissing babies.

Red Bull boss blames Renault for poor performance

Red Bull F1 driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany exits Turn 10 during the first free practice session for the Canadian Grand Prix at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal on Friday, June 6, 2014.

Photograph by: Dario Ayala
, The Gazette

One thing about Christian Horner: He isn’t shy about pointing fingers.

The boss of Red Bull Racing held nothing back on Friday when he was asked to explain the reasons behind his team’s fall from grace after dominating Formula One over the last four seasons.

His answer, in a word: Renault.

Renault engines power the Red Bull cars, of course, and Horner made it clear that is where the source of his team’s woes resides. He said Renault has not done a good enough job adapting to the new 1.6-litre, V6 turbo engines and expanded energy-recovery systems, part of F1’s move toward a greener F1 this season.

“Unfortunately, they found themselves on the back foot with this regulation change, and they’ve got to cover that ground,” Horner told reporters at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, where the cars took to the track in a pair of practice sessions for the Canadian Grand Prix.

“We’ve won world championships with Renault, and all our Grand Prix victories have come with Renault engines, so hopefully they can get on top of these issues sooner rather than later.”

For now, Red Bull finds itself without a race win in 2014 — this after sweeping the drivers’ and constructors’ championships four years in a row.

The team sits second in the constructors’ standings, 21 points ahead of Ferrari but a gaping 141 points behind Mercedes.

In six races so far, Red Bull drivers Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo have combined for a total of three podium positions, all of them third-place finishes.

Vettel accounts for just one of those podiums, at the second Grand Prix of the season, in Malaysia. Last year, he racked up 16 podiums and 13 race wins in 19 races.

Horner admitted Vettel shares his frustration with the turn of fortunes at Red Bull, but said the four-time champion is not the sort to throw in the towel.

“It’s been a tough start of the year for him,” he said. “But I think he’s going to come out of it an even stronger driver. He’s not giving up on anything; he’s coming to grips with the car and I think very shortly we’ll see him really back on form

“Everyone’s determined to try to get back to the front,” he added. “It’s a great motivation when you’ve had a lot of sustained success to suddenly be the No. 2 team effectively; it’s a great motivation to get us back to the front.”

For that to happen, though, Renault must get its act together, as Horner kept repeating in the Red Bull paddock along the rowing basin on Île Notre Dame.

“We’re relying on them to get these issues sorted as soon as possible. It’s all about the integration of the turbo system, the combustion engine and the energy recovery systems. It’s about getting those three elements to work in unison, and we’ve been trying to support Renault with software development that we can assist on.”

At the same time, Horner squelched speculation that Red Bull might be looking to ditch Renault in favour of another engine supplier.

“No, there are no plans to change in the near future,” he said. “We’ll still have Renault-powered engines in our cars next year. But obviously they need to close the gap down, not just for ourselves but for themselves. Renault can’t afford to be in Formula One just to make up the numbers.”

And he denied that the new F1 favours those teams that build the entire car — chassis and engine — like Mercedes, which has swept all six races so far.

“Not necessarily,” Horner said. “Obviously it is a big regulation change this year, but whether you use an in-house engine or effectively a customer relationship, it’s all about communication between the parties. That’s the key element.”

Again on Friday, Mercedes rocketed to the top of the timesheets, with Hamilton setting the fastest time of the day during the afternoon session, covering the 4.361-kilometre circuit in one minute, 16.118 seconds. Second-place man Rosberg was 0.175 seconds behind, while Vettel was third, 0.455 seconds back of the leader.

In the morning session, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was the surprise leader, followed by Hamilton and Rosberg. Vettel was fourth. Lap times were significantly slower, though, on the still-green track, with Alonso posting a best time of one minute, 17.238 seconds.

Hamilton accounts for four of the six Mercedes’s wins so far but trails Rosberg in the drivers’ standings by four points. That’s because Hamilton failed to finish the season-opening Australian Grand Prix because of an engine failure while Rosberg has reached the checkered flag every time.

Heading into the 45th edition of the Canadian Grand Prix, Rosberg leads all drivers with 122 points, followed by Hamilton (118) and Alonso (61). Vettel is down in sixth place, with 45 points, while teammate Daniel Ricciardo is fourth with 54.

Mercedes drivers have a lock on pole positions, too, this season, with Hamilton securing four to Rosberg’s two. It seems certain that one or the other will add to the tally during Saturday’s qualifying session.

As for Sunday’s race — the 35th on Île Notre Dame — Hamilton arrives as the favourite, having won here three times before, including his maiden win in F1 in 2007.

With Mercedes looking unbeatable this weekend and beyond, Horner was asked whether he expects Red Bull to win a race in 2014.

“That’s the target,” he said. “Not just one, but try to win a few.

“Obviously, Mercedes are only 18 points from the maximum score after six races. But there’s still a long, long way to go. We just have to keep pushing.”

Clearly, the message is directed not just at his team, but at Renault.

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.